The book of Life

Everybody has a bad day, that’s a given. The problem is when bad days turn into bad weeks, into bad months and even into a bad year. This has been a bad year for most, but for me, it has been catastrophic. First, I was fired from my job at a restaurant when it closed due to the pandemic, I then lost my car due to inability to make payments. One day I woke up and, poof! It was gone. I didn't even bother calling the bank, those soulless bastards. The company that manages the apartment complex where I live blows up my phone, and leaves notes every week about the rent that’s due-- over three thousand dollars and counting. I have no clue what to do.

I came to the US three years ago, crossing the Rio Grande, my uncle had got me a job as a waiter through a friend. But now I have not had work for six months, and what savings I had are gone. I have no papers, and don’t qualify for any help from the government. So, here I am, walking on the streets avoiding getting home so I don’t see another note on the door. In 3 days the moratorium on rent payments ends and the office told me: “Leave or the police will vacate the apartment,” Today, after several days outside the Home Depot waiting for someone to pick me up to help in moving or whatever, I earned fifty dollars. Fifty bucks, which now feels like a small fortune. But it is a small drop in the bucket. I’m in need of a miracle, or I will be on the streets within a week.

My stomach reminds me I haven’t eaten since the morning. There’s a Mexican restaurant at the corner of the Home Depot that’s normally pretty cheap. The place is half full-- you could notice the fifty percent occupancy restrictions. Half of the tables are taped off, and so I sat at the bar.

“Can I help you Sir?” the bartender asked, handing me a menu.

“A burrito please” I answered without even looking at it.

“Anything to drink? It looks like it’s been a rough day,”

“Not a good day, not a good year”

“I hear you man! This one’s on the house!” he answered while serving me a very cold Corona.

“I appreciate it bro!” I said.

It is almost 9 at night, but even in the midst of a pandemic, the restaurant has its regulars. On several televisions a Mexican league soccer game was on: Pumas against America. At the corner of the bar, some guys are excited watching the game. Yellow shirts give them away as America fans. Further back there are two girls going through the records on a jukebox. They play some country song about Jesus taking the wheel. I drink my beer while watching the game, happy for something cold after a hot day. The Mexican league never interested me that much, but I can’t help but watch while I eat my lunch. The game is all but over, with America two goals up, and some happy fans celebrating at the bar.

“They won't win!” A brunette girl said as she sits down next to me.

“Excuse me?” I asked her, surprised. I was glad that the girl struck up a conversation, but I was not in the mood for adventure.

“I said they won't win,”

“You don't know much about soccer, do you?” I said. “The team with more goals wins, in case you didn’t know”

The girl, undeterred, takes out a small black book from her bag and starts reading and writing some notes.

"Gooooooooooool for the Pumas!" shouts the announcer on TV while the girl smiles and continues writing.

“Ah! It was just luck. They are still losing. And there are less than two minutes left.” I whispered, as if to myself. She simply kept writing in the book as if she hadn’t heard. America's fans no longer laughed, they were quiet, following each play nervously. Suddenly a whistle was heard and even the bartender turns away. "Penalty!! Penalty in favor of Pumas!” yelled the announcer. I then turned to look at the girl, who didn't even raise her head. She simply said: "I told you so"

“He still needs to score” –I heard myself saying while finishing off my beer.

“You want another one my friend?” asked the bartender, removing the bottle with flawless efficiency. I nod at him while thinking "Yeah, what the hell!"

“Gooool de Pumas! They have tied the game sensationally! "

“Does the lady want something?” The bartender would ask her.

“Yes. A red wine, please.” The lady turned to Manuel and asked: “Do you believe me now?”

“I suppose you're very lucky-- I could use some of that right about now,”

“I do not believe in luck.” She said. “It is something deeper, difficult to explain.”

“What's your name?” I asked.

“I’ve been called by many names, Michael, Gabriel… but you may call me Ariel”

I stared at her for a few seconds. Then turned my face for fear of appearing indiscreet. "Who is this woman? She is beautiful! Perfect! Michelangelo couldn’t have sculpted her better!” I kept thinking as I snuck looks at her full breasts.

“Stop looking at me like that Manuel.” She suddenly said.

“How do you know my name?” –I asked, feeling my stomach tighten. “Are you a cop?”

“Of course not. I'm just a friend. Don’t be scared” Her voice was calm, smooth.

“Where is your friend? The blonde who was with you before?”

“She left. She is supposed to be somewhere else right now.”

“Are you working at this time?”

“There is an hour for everything” She said, lighting a cigarette.

“You can’t smoke here,you know.”

“Does It bother you?” She asked, with an almost sensual wave of her hand.

“Of course not. I’m just telling you so you’re not surprised when the bartender does,”

“He won’t say anything, Manuel. You let me worry about that” She said, letting out a puff of smoke. The bartender looked at her while making a cocktail and just smiled. She smiled back at him. Her Spanish was good, but with a heavy accent.

“Where are you from?”

“That doesn’t matter.” she said. “I'm not from around here. I have been to many places.”

“That's clear to me.” I said while admiring her. She smiled and blushed.

“I told you not to look at me like that!”

“Sorry! I apologize. Honestly, you are very beautiful.”

“Thank you!” –she said smiling while exhaling smoke. “God's creation is perfect. Don’t you think?”

“You look like you just came down straight from Heaven.”

On the TV, Channel 7 was talking about someone who had won the lottery.

“Some people are just lucky, right? Two hundred million!” I exclaimed.

“What would you do with that money?” She asked.

“I don’t know. I don't usually think about that stuff. It’s a lot of money. I would be satisfied with paying rent for me and my neighbors.”

“Why would you do that?”

“They have children. Kids should not be living on the streets”

She stared at me for a moment. Then wrote something else in the little black book.

“I have to go” –She said. “Would you walk with me?”

“Sure. I don’t have anything else to do” I said, finishing the last dregs of my beer.

We walked a few blocks on Bellaire Boulevard until we came to a fairly old apartment building. We went in and got to apartment number 12. She turned around and thanked me. I was confused.

“You thought I was going to invite you in, right?” –She said smiling.

“Of course not!” –I said, not knowing what else to say. She winked at me.

“You're a good man, Manuel.” –she said, and kissed my cheek. Without another word, she walked into the apartment and closed the door.

I arrived home half an hour later, still thinking about her. A note was on the door, I took it thinking it was another notice about the rent. It read: “Manuel, go to this address tomorrow at once. 800 Capitol St. hand these numbers to the receptionist. Good luck, Ariel.” Further down were two numbers that seemed to be some kind of passcodes or telephone numbers. I couldn't sleep that night. Who was that woman and how did she know where I lived? Why did she come to me? “I’m not going to that place, who knows! What if I end up in prison? Or dead!” But my burning curiosity and the desire to see her again grew stronger. I didn't have much to lose.

The next morning I showed up at the address early. It turned out to be a Bank of America branch. As the note said, I went to the reception and gave the lady the numbers in the note. The girl told me to wait in the lobby and spoke to someone on the phone. A few minutes later a well dressed woman showed up.

“Mr. Gonzalez, come with me please.” –she told me.

“How do you know my name?” –Manuel asked her, more and more amazed. "This looks like a dream!"

“It's my job to know everything Sir.”

They entered a room inside a vault. The lady went to a wall full of small windows. Opened one and brought me the box that was inside with a key. Then she left the room. I opened the box. My hands were shaking. Inside there was a gold bar and a note with two biblical texts: Haggai 2: 8 and Matthew 19:21

I was shivering and sweating cold. “I don't know what's going on here but that's not mine!” –I shouted to the lady.

“Of course it is, Sir. Only you have the number and the password to open that box. I've been in this place for thirty years and no one has ever come for it.”

“What can I do with that?” I asked with perplexity.

“Whatever you want Sir. It's yours.” -She replied. “Perhaps you would want its value in dollars?”

“Can I do that?”

“Of course!”

“How much would that be?”

“I can let you know in just a minute Sir”

“Please do!” I said.

Without another word, she took the box and left the safe room.

She came back just a few minutes later.

“Twenty thousands dollars Sir. Would a cashier’s check be fine? I’m afraid we don’t have that volume of cash on hand,”

I ran a hand over my face-- pinched myself, scratched my head. Anything. But no, it was real. “A check would be fine.” I said, feeling my knees struggling to not go out from under me.

“Of course Sir” She produced a check, as well as the relevant forms to sign. “Good luck Mr. Gonzalez.” She said, showing me the door.

I ran out of the bank as fast as I could, convinced a cop was going to arrest me for grand theft. I jumped on a bus heading southwest. Every so often I reached into my pocket to confirm that the check was there, that I was not dreaming. I got to the building where I left her the night before. Got to door number 12 and started knocking on the door. No one opened, so I knocked louder and louder. An annoyed man came out of another apartment.

“Hey man! Knock it off! Who are you looking for?”

“I'm looking for Ariel, the girl who lives here. She needs to explain to me what’s going on!”

“Someone is teasing you my friend. Nobody has lived in that apartment for at least 6 months.”

I froze out. I didn't know what to say. Apologized in a dazed way and left as I remembered the biblical texts. “A Bible. I need a Bible ” I said to myself as I hurried out of the building.

"At least I can pay rent.”